Customers walking into Shenandoah Pizza these days are finding a restaurant very different from the one they knew a half-block away on Beverley Street.

Triple the size of the first space and decked out in hip gray hues and red cushioned chairs, it's an upgrade of major proportions.

But one thing owners John and Cheryl Huggins say won't change — and what they believe to be the secret to their success so far: Their faces out front every day greeting customers with a smile.

Regulars notice it without missing a beat.

"They're just such nice people," said David Jetton, who also co-owns Coffee on the Corner with his wife, Stephanie. "And they do make some very good pizza."

Not so long ago, neither Huggins could have dreamed they would be running a mom-and-pop pizzeria in downtown Staunton. They say they owe their quick success over the past 18 months, in part, to their previous experience separately owning small businesses.

The couple also hit on a product — gourmet pizza, both by the slice and pie served in a family friendly atmosphere — that was sorely missing in downtown Staunton. Their opening week no doubt elicited some hand-to-forehead slaps of "why-didn't-I-think-of-that" sentiment.

"I think they definitely hit on something people really want," said Julie Markowitz, executive director of Staunton Downtown Development Association. "They really thought it out and made it work for themselves and for the community."

'It's in his blood'

John Huggins, 44, grew up in Lumberton, N.C., and has been self-employed for most of his adult life. Before opening the pizza shop, he was a building contractor and owned a side antiques business in North Carolina's Outer Banks.

"Johnny always has some idea for a new business," Cheryl Huggins said, gazing at her husband. "It's in his blood, you know. His whole family owns around five businesses. He's a risk taker. And I'm always like, 'Wait, slow down. Let's keep working on this one!'"

The couple met four years ago there, where Cheryl, 47, had a mobile computer repair and support business.

"I was making pretty good money as a contractor, and I had some real estate investments," John Huggins said.

But he grew tired of the work, and the bottom was falling out of the rental properties market in the area, so work was starting to dry up.

"I kind of knew it was coming, and I always had this idea about a pizza business since I was in college," he said.

Meanwhile on weekends, the couple enjoyed staying at their cabin near Wintergreen and driving into Staunton. They fell in love with the architecture, the arts and culture scene and the small-town way of life.

Like the dough he would later learn to knead and twirl, John Huggins' pizzeria idea started to take shape.

"I was surprised that downtown Staunton didn't have a pizza place," he said.

Added Cheryl: "I told him, 'If you're really going to do this, you need to go to dough school.'"

Practice, practice

So, about a year before they opened shop, John Huggins called an acquaintance who ran a successful pizza restaurant in the Outer Banks. He went in the mornings at 7, before his regular job, to attend his dough-making apprenticeship. The lessons were free, Huggins added.

"He just did it because he's a nice guy," he said.

The Hugginses also traveled the East Coast, making numerous trips to New York and other cities to visit pizza joints. "We'd get into town and ask people, 'Where's the best place to get pizza?'" Cheryl recalled.

"I was getting 'Pizza Today,' and I went into everybody's kitchen to watch," John said.

The couple also practiced making pizzas in their kitchen in Nags Head, N.C. The one they felt they needed to perfect was the Valley, one of their most popular slices, made with white garlic sauce, spinach, tomatoes, red onion and mozzarella.

"I knew if we could make that white sauce, we were ready," Cheryl said.

John Huggins learned the key to tasty gourmet pizza is a relatively simple concept.

"Fresh, premium ingredients are the most important," he said. "You've got to make everything from scratch."

They looked for locations and settled on their previous space at 7 W. Beverley St. in December 2005. They planned to open in April, and as the big day neared, Cheryl Huggins was nervous.

"You start to wonder if people will really come," she said.

But they had an inkling customers would indeed show up.

"When people came by and asked what it was going to be, and we said, 'Pizza by the slice,' that was it," said Cheryl Huggins. "They were sold."

Bring on the music

Seated at one of the tables in their new digs, the couple, especially John, looks exhausted, having spent the past month in the trenches getting the space ready.

"It's been a job," he said, letting out a deep sigh.

As they gazed around the place, it seemed as though they were taking it all in for the first time. Their goal with the refurbishment was to update the space but still retain its historic integrity.

It has been well received.

"Just look around," said David Cooper, a regular enjoying a slice on a recent afternoon. "Isn't it gorgeous what they've done to this place?"

The Hugginses also began booking local bands last November, and acts have been lining up to play ever since. With that in mind, they had a new sound system installed in the front of the restaurant. The performances will be a mix of folk, bluegrass and jazz, they said.

Downtown is changing, they believe, drawing more musical acts and a greater variety of businesses that cater to the Main Street lifestyle. The couple is excited about the prospect of an ice cream shop called the Split Banana opening downtown. Co-owner Nick Blanton, son of Pufferbellies co-owner Susan Blanton, plans to open his doors as early as February in Shenandoah Pizza's old space.

Like the Hugginses, being a part of the community and having a strong presence in his shop will be as important to Blanton, 24, as offering something people want to buy. It's a business practice employed by several merchants and restaurants in town, including his mom's and sister Erin's Pufferbellies, where they host free storytimes and donate 10 percent of their Sunday sales to nonprofit organizations.

"We want to be a part of downtown," said Nick Blanton, who is partnering with Andrew Robertson in the ice cream parlor. "We want to meet everyone and know everyone. I've spent time in Sweden and a year in Japan, but I love the Shenandoah Valley, and it has everything I need."

The Hugginses couldn't agree more with that philosophy. They said hard work and experience have helped them get this far. But what has been the most important ingredient in their recipe for success is the support they've received from the community at large.

"This place would've never happened without the community," Cheryl Huggins said.

People came in and swept and painted. One customer installed the brackets for the speakers — just to help.

Asked about future plans, John says he's thought about opening new locations. But in the same breath he says he won't turn the restaurant over to someone else to manage.

"We'll always be here," Cheryl said. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't enjoy it. We enjoy seeing our friends. Many of our customers have become our friends. That's what we love."